Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Further to the comprehensive statement provided by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, last Thursday on the memorandum of understanding with the FAI, I am pleased to provide additional information in response to the Deputy's query.

At its meeting on 30 January the Government authorised the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, to enter an agreement with the FAI to provide additional funding support to the association to address its grave financial crisis. This additional funding would be conditional on the FAI implementing reforms to its corporate governance and financial controls on an agreed timeframe. The MOU signed on 30 January by the then Minister, Shane Ross, and the chairperson of the FAI, Mr. Roy Barrett, enables Sport Ireland to restore funding to the FAI of €2.9 million per annum and to provide additional annual funding of €2.9 million for football development up to 2023. It also provides for a repayable grant of just over €7.6 million to the FAI to pay its licence fee for the Aviva Stadium up to 2022.

The MOU sets out broadly the terms upon which funding support can be provided and is to be underpinned by a series of relevant documents which will set out in detail the terms under which funding will be provided. It was agreed that in line with the established grant for sporting bodies, Sport Ireland would oversee the disbursement of funding to the FAI and would enter relevant legal agreements with the association in this regard. In April, a memorandum of agreement was entered into between Sport Ireland, the FAI and New Stadium DAC, the company which operates the Aviva Stadium, for the disbursement of the FAI's licence fee to New Stadium DAC. The agreement outlines that a recoupable grant will be paid in instalments totalling €2,544,600 annually by Sport Ireland directly to New Stadium DAC on behalf of the FAI in each of the years 2020 to 2022. This grant will be recoupable from the FAI from 2024.

Sport Ireland is awaiting confirmation of the implementation of various reforms by the FAI before putting an agreement in place in relation to the remaining funding approved by the Government. At its most recent meeting on Friday, 17 July, the board of Sport Ireland considered the immediate steps necessary towards restoration of funding to the FAI. The board recognised and endorsed recent progress made by the FAI to improve its governance and internal control environment. The board also agreed that the relevant rule and constitutional changes committed to by the FAI are required to be implemented in line with the MOU prior to grant funding being paid.

As the Minister, Deputy Ryan, informed the House last week, the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the then Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Calleary, confirmed to the FAI on 9 July that the Government would not reopen for discussion any part of the MOU agreed by the previous Government.

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